Former state Rep. Ernie Newton charged with campaign finance violation

Staff and wire reports

Published 12:00 am, Saturday, January 5, 2013

Former Bridgeport state Sen. Ernest E. Newton II, who previously served five years in prison for bribery, has been arrested and charged with falsely obtaining thousands of dollars in public funds to finance his latest run for the Senate.

Newton, 56, was arrested on a warrant and charged with one count of first-degree larceny, five counts of illegal campaign practices, and one count of tampering with a witness.

The arrest came after an investigation by the State Elections Enforcement Commission in the Office of Governmental Accountability and the Statewide Prosecution Bureau in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney revealed that Newton used false documentation to get $80,550 from Connecticut's Citizens Election Program to support his campaign.

In order to qualify for the Citizens Election Program, a campaign must raise $15,000. According to the warrant, Newton had raised $14,500, and had five campaign workers sign cards saying they had contributed to the campaign when they had not.

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Newton allegedly told one of the five individuals not to talk to the SEEC when contacted by the commission's investigators.